sunday funday

i heart sundays.

that is typically my consistent day off from work, and nothing gives me more joy. i know its a day i get to spend with the hubby going to church, running errands, doing something fun and adventurous, or just lay around the house.

this past sunday we met my friend, and manager of the Galleria Cowboys store, and her boyfriend who is on leave from Iraq, for brunch. we went to Nick & Sam's grill in Uptown. I love uptown. lots of cute shops and fun restaurants. its very hip dog (as my father in law would say). bill and I don't get over there much, its sorta out of the way for us. but on the occasion we venture over there when we want to explore something new. anyways, we went there for brunch. it was super yummy, not to mention on Sundays they have $6 bottomless mimosas. oooooweee! another couple, that are friends with Lori came as well. good times were had and i think brunch might be my favorite meal.

the patio at Nick & Sams

that took up most of the morning and afternoon. its a popular place, and i'm lucky that i got bill to wait that long. waiting at restaurants does NOT run in the family. :) after brunch we came home to do some household chores. bill decided he wanted to get started on restoring my grandparents patio furniture. its super cute and retro looking. it just needs a new coat of paint. but in order to do that, we have to strip off the layers and layers of old paint. my g-pa painted it every summer a new color. so its been fun seeing all the old colors underneath. like lime green and bright yellow! meanwhile, i washed both cars. adios pollen!

later that night, we met back up with the crew we had been with to watch the Mavericks vs. Spurs game. we went over to Lori's friends apartment. they live at Cirque loft apartments in uptown. its right next to the American Airlines Center. these apartments are so swanky. it felt more like a hotel. they have an A-Mazing view of the Dallas skyline! i was blown away. it was fun for a night, but i'll stick to suburbia.

this is sorta what their view looks like. its beautiful at night.

unfortunately the Mavs lost. and we were in company with all Spurs fans. boo! its the playoffs, so no elimination yet. they've got to win tonight, and it looks like thats gonna happen. lets go mavs!

managers meetings at the new corporate offices Wednesday and Thursday. spending the night at the Gaylor Texan. should be fun.

april 19

2 years ago we walked down the aisle and got hitched!

the past two years have really flown by. bill took me to a fancy steakhouse for dinner called

III Forks. it did not disappoint. the steak was melt.in.your.mouth. yummy.

at dinner we went through our two year "milestones" together.

we became homeowners. we adopted and raised a puppy. we went to lots of cowboy games. we had a fun family vacation. we made it through our first year of filling joint taxes. and most importantly we still love each other. :)

this is one of my favorite pictures from our wedding. i think michelle miller took it. my friends were having a contest to see who could get the best pic of us leaving, and i believe she won!

here's to many more happy years together!

hill country vacation

this weekend Bill and I took an extended weekend vacay to the Texas Hill Country. we were celebrating our 2nd anniversary which is tomorrow!

1st stop: Austin, TX

Let me first preface this blog by saying that the entire weekend was a monsoon. it rained 95% of the time. and by rain i mean, nasty misty, constant drizzle, to full out downpour. it was gross, and honestly, made me a little angry. grrr rain. therefore, i did not get a lot of good pictures. i'm pretty disappointed by this, because i love taking lots of pics. so, i'll try my best to paint the picture of our vacation.

moving on... we made it into austin around 11am and decided to grab some lunch before heading out on our adventures. me found a little mexican restaurant in, what i think was called, the arts district. austin is known for its wierdness. they like to be different, and let me tell ya, this different was good. i loved all the little unique shops, and fun restaurants. there was a western store called Allen Boots. two words. BOOT. HEAVEN.

i could have spent all day in here trying on boots. they had SO many. and lots of them were vintage style. oh they were beautiful. if the boot gods are listening, i would like a camel colored vintage pair with turquoise details and roses. thank you.

next we went to mellow johnnys bike shop. bill wanted to check it out because, well he's mr. cyclist now, and this is lance armstrongs bike shop. it was a cool place. i think we spent the most money there. ha!
bill was embarrassed at me taking his picture like this. ohhh, life as a husband.


we went to check out the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum. we had to get a little culture on the trip. this place was very nice. it was good to learn a little about this wonderful state we live in.
this was in front of the museum. gotta love the lone star.

by the time we left the museum the skies let loose and it really began to rain. we wanted to go walk around the university of texas campus, as much as it pains me to do so. i mostly wanted to get a pic of me doing the horns down thing in front of some longhorn fans. we did drive around the campus the next morning. it really made me miss being in fayetteville. seeing all the students scattering to class, driving around the football field, and seeing all the school pride and spirit. *tear.

so, that night we decided to drive out to Driftwood, TX to go to a place called The Salt Lick, a well known BBQ joint. it was about an hour drive outside of town, just really in the middle of nowhere. well worth the drive, and getting drenched. good stuff, i tell ya.

we were going to check out 6th street after we got back from dinner. buuuuttt, you guessed it, still pouring. so we skipped out on it, and watched a movie at the hotel.

Friday morning we grabbed some breakfast and headed out towards Fredericksburg. we stopped in Johnson City to see the LBJ State Park. It is where Lyndon B. Johnsons boyhood home is. we got there around noon and they close the exhibits for lunch and we didn't feel like waiting around, so missed out on that. as you head out further towards Fredericksburg, you go by the LBJ ranch. so we drove thru it as much as we could. we couldn't get close to "The Texas White House" because the river you have to cross to get to it, had washed out the road. boo rain, again. oh well, onto the main event.

we arrived in fredericksburg and walked around main street, where all the shops, antique stores, and restaurants are. we had lunch at a local brewery. for those that may not know, fredericksburg is a little german town. so all the store fronts look like a little german main street. and a lot of the restaurants are german, biergartens and all.

we stayed in a little cottage, that is a guesthouse behind someones real house. this place was so adorable. the lady that owns it is an interior designer, and has been recognized for her designs. most recently this cottage was written up in the latest Cottage Style magazine.

this was the bathroom. it had a cute antique sink, and lots of antique mirrors.

this was the dining area. she used all black and white decorating. so many little details too. the pics don't do it justice.

view from the front door. it was so quaint and peace full. we loved it, and i highly recommend it.

these are a little out of order... this is the front of the cottage. not too much to look at from the outside. but we learned that before she renovated it, it was a laundry building because the front house were apartments. the front house was built in 1907.

my best attempt at being artistic. :) this is what the guesthouse was named.

on our second day in fredericksburg, we got breakfast at a little bakery. which i bought a cookbook from. sooo delish. we did more walking around main street. bill actually enjoyed looking in the antique and furniture stores best. i was surprised. there were cute clothing stores as well. there, he was not so interested.

we decided we wanted to do a little exploring, so we did a little hill country driving. we found a spot in the middle of nowhere to have lunch. it was called the Hill Top Cafe. such a cute spot, and amazing cajun food.

this, sadly, is the only pic i have of both of us... this is in front of the hill top cafe. my favorite place we ate.

after lunch, it had actually gotten sunny out so bill decided he wanted to take his bike out for a spin. and i went and did some more shopping. much easier to take my time and look when the hubby isn't waiting outside the store for you. ha. i found a few souvenirs, and gifts for other people.

that night we ate dinner at a german restaurant called, Auslander. i had wiener schnitzel. well actually it was called texasschnitzel. regular schnitzel with a texas twist. it was tasty!

after dinner we decided to drive out to Luckenbach, TX. they were having their first annual hat festival. oh my. so fun. luckenbach is all of like half a mile long. there is what used to be the post office, now a general store and souvenir shop and a dance hall. ha! this was pure country folks. the bands were really good, and lots of two-steppin' going on. of course, we joined in.

famous luckenbach dance hall.

"...out in luckenbach texas, aint no body feelin' no pain."

famous, and some not so famous, peoples signatures are scribbled all over the store.

to get home today, we decided to take all back roads so we could see the country and the wildflowers. it was such a pretty drive. i've never seen so many bluebonnets. of course, i didn't get a pic because well, you know.... trust me it was pretty.

all in all, bill and i had a wonderful weekend. it was relaxing. there was no schedule or agenda. just enjoying our time together celebrating 2 years of married life.

final farewell

today we said a final farewell to Texas Stadium. for 37 years the Dallas Cowboys called it home, and this morning, in less than 1 minute, it was gone. i admit, i shed a little tear watching the stadium come down. i know i am not a long time, die hard fan, like many others. but, working for the team the past 2 years, i've become a loyal fan, and watching a place that once was so magnificent come down like dominoes, got me a little misty eyed.

in the one season i got to enjoy attending games there, lots of memories were made. my first ever NFL game, my first Cowboy's game, final season at texas stadium, final game at texas stadium, getting to go in the locker room and stand on the famous star at the company christmas party.

if you haven't seen video of the implosions check out wfaa.com.

there was only one glitch during the implosion. 3 of the largest pillars leaned, but did not fall completely. maybe it was texas stadium's way of holding on to a few of the biggest memories it holds. 3 Super Bowls won while the team was playing under its roof.

texas stadium was such a huge icon in dallas. it sure will be weird to drive down the interstate and not see that big dome with the hole in the roof...

Happy Easter!

Easter is probably my favorite holiday. It means spring time, warm weather, pretty colors, and new life. Bill and I got to spend Easter in Little Rock this year. As usual, we had a "busy" weekend, trying to fit all we could into 3 days. Taking a trip to LR is no vacation, there is usually a schedule, agenda, or tasks to be done. But, its always fun things, so no complaining here.

This particular trip I got to attend a wedding shower for my long time friend Ashley Gibbs. She is getting married this May at Wildwood Performing Arts Center. I am so excited for her and for her wedding. I haven't been to a wedding shower in SO long. They are usually during football season, and I can't ever get away from work. So, I was super excited about going to this one. It was so good to see a lot of friends that I haven't seen in a while. Here are some pics from the shower...

Me and the Bride, Ashley, at her shower.

Most of the girls with the bride to be.

Libby Feller, Alison Almefty, Michelle Miller, Ashley Gibbs,

Me, Carla Sawatski, & Ashley Kella.

On Easter Sunday, Bill and I went to church with my mom and step dad at Fellowship Bible Church. Bill and I joked that we felt like politicians when we left, because it was like every where we turned we ran into people we knew that we wanted to talk with. Service was a little over an hour, but we were there for about 2! It was fun getting to see people we haven't connected with in a while. After church, we went to my in-laws for a BIG brunch. Easter Sunday also happened to be my sister, mother, and uncle-in-laws birthdays! The biggest milestone being my sister in laws, because it was her 21st! So, lots of family, presents, Easter egg hunts, and food to be had! It was a great time. Here are some pics from Easter Sunday...

Me with my mom and Bill's mom

Me and Mom

Bill's cousins little girls. They were flower girls in my wedding.

Adorable, sweet, yet full of trouble. :)

In addition to a great Easter Sunday and fun wedding shower, mom and I got pedicures, did some shopping, and spent the day together on Friday. Then Friday night we all attended the big Easter production at our best friend Lori & Trevors church. It was sooo good. Its called The Kingdom, and they only have it every other year. They played several rolls, including Adam & Eve. hehe. Saturday night we spent some time with one of Bills long time friends, Cory Scott, ate dinner for Isabelles birthday at Cantina Laredo, and hung out with Lori and Trevor after their second night of the show.

All in all, we had a great weekend. Wish we could do it more often. I'll leave you with my favorite verse this Easter. He is risen, indeed!

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!

In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope

through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead..."

-1 Peter 1:3